By Dan Murphy
The Beacon Hill Architectural Commission approved new signage and other exterior changes proposed for a coffee shop opening in the shadow of the State House at the commission’s monthly public hearing held virtually on Thursday, March 20.
Bon! intends to open in a street-level retail space at 22 Beacon St., which was previously home to a Dunkin’ Donuts store, at the beginning of May, said business proprietor, Zeyad ElSherif.
The proposed signage for the new business would comprise a wall-mounted sign, measuring approximately 36-by-18 inches, with ‘BON!’ spelled out in metal lettering on the left-hand side above the storefront. The sign would reflect the business’s brand color scheme of red, black, and white, said ElSherif.
A projecting metal blade sign with painted lettering was also proposed as part of this application. ElSherif couldn’t provide its exact dimensions at the time of the hearing, however, but said he expected it would likely measure around 24-by-12 inches.
Additionally, this application included the replacement of the existing green canvas covering for the retractable awning with a new red covering.
Commission Chair Mark Kiefer and Commissioners Maurice Finegold, Edward Fleck, and Ralph Jackson all approved this portion of application; as a proviso, some details of the proposed blade sign, including its bracket and chain, along with shop drawings, would be delegated to staff (Nicholas Armata) for final approval.
One portion of the application proposing the installation of a pair of exclamation point-shaped door pulls, which would’ve been painted red to reflect the business’s branding colors, was unanimously denied without prejudice, however, to allow the applicant more time to conceive a more historically appropriate design, using more appropriate materials (i.e. brass for the door pulls).
While Chair Kiefer commended ElSherif on the creative design of the proposed door pulls, he advised the applicant that “this might be a challenge” within the Historic Beacon Hill District. “In any other location, it would be a fun and sensible suggestion,” added Chair Kiefer.
(As an abutter to the site, Vice Chair Arian Allen recused herself from deliberating on this application.)
In another matter, the commission unanimously approved a design review application for 101 Chestnut St., which proposed changing all the dark-forest green paint on the windows to Benjamin Moore high-gloss historic black-HC 190.
This determination came with provisos that the new paint instead be a historical Annapolis Gray shade, which had been previously approved by the commission, or green in kind, with a paint chip to be submitted to BHAC staff for final approval.
Likewise, the commission approved a design review application for the installation of a new Butterfly intercom system, with a brass cover box, at 35 Beacon St; this determination came with a proviso that the applicant would remove the old intercom unit and also make any necessary restorations.
(As an abutter, Chair Kiefer recused himself from deliberating on this application.)
On a design review application for an 1835 Greek Revival building located at 94 Mount Vernon St., the commission unanimously denied without prejudice a proposed roofdeck to allow the applicant time to modify its design and construct a mockup with reduced visibility from a public way.
A portion of the same application, which entailed painting 11 windows (including eight windows in the mansard and three windows embedded in the brick) on the front façade Off White (OC-23). was unanimously approved by the commission, with a proviso that a paint chip be provided to staff in advance of any work commencing.
In an advisory review, the commission heard preliminary plans to replace the existing CVS Pharmacy store at the intersection of Charles and Cambridge streets with a six-story, mixed-use building, including approximately 13 residential units.
The new building would include ground-floor commercial space, with four floors of residential above it, said Eric Robinson, principal owner and co-founder of RODE Architects, while a copper-clad, sixth-floor penthouse would be home to one residential unit, a community room, and mechanicals.
The new building would seek to “honor” the site’s existing pedestrian realm, said Robinson, who noted its location on “a really busy corner from a pedestrian point of view.”
Robinson also underscored the opportunity for this project to reimagine the intersection of Charles and Cambridge streets as a new gateway into Beacon Hill., since the Egeria Group – the Amsterdam-based capital management firm that owns the CVS site – also owns the adjacent 151 Charles St., as well as The Whitney Hotel, located directly across at 171 Charles St.
No violations were reviewed by the commission at the hearing.